THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

First Sunday in Lent

26 February 2023

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

The season of Lent is now upon us, and we should take the time to examine our penances. We are given the example of Jesus to follow. We obviously cannot endure the severe fast He did, but we can imitate His Spirit. Jesus willingly entered the desert to fast and to be tempted. We, too, need to willingly embrace our Lenten fasting and the temptations accompanying or following our fast and abstinence.

All God has made is good, and our fasting and abstinence are not because these things are bad or unhealthy. Our Lenten fast is to be a sacrificial offering to God. Offerings to God need to be of the highest quality. In the Old Testament, it is evident that the animals to be sacrificed and offered to God needed to be the best and as perfect as possible. Setting aside for God what we don't want or what is of less value is not the disposition we should have. Our goal should be exactly the opposite. We should set aside for God the best we have. We should offer and sacrifice the best we have to God and keep the lesser things for ourselves.

We should do this with a humble heart, not seeking the praise of others. Our sacrifices mean nothing if we perform them out of pride or vanity. The devils are constantly fanning the flames of these vices as we strive to give our best to God. Often, they tempt us to form a comparison of ourselves with others — obviously seeing that our works are better than our neighbor's.

It isn't easy to judge or measure our sacrifices and offerings because we tend to look upon the material cost or value in an economic sense. We should reflect that the material value of the Widow's Mite was insignificant, but spiritually it was of the most incredible value in the eyes of God. We tend to ask what thing, how much, or how often we should sacrifice or offer. These matters are necessary but not quite as important as we are led to think. Above all, we should ask with what spirit or intention we make our sacrifices and offering.

It is not so much what we sacrifice or offer as it is how or with what attitude we make the sacrificial offering. Is there love in our hearts? Is there true joy in our hearts? Or are we begrudgingly conforming to the letter of the law and doing the minimum or giving God the least possible so that we can remain "respectable" in the eyes of our neighbors? God will not be deceived. Nor will He be mocked.

The devils will tempt us not to fast and then to be proud of our fasting. Before we begin, the devils tempt us not to fast or sacrifice. They often suggest thoughts along these lines: It is a waste of time or resources. We need our energy. God doesn't need our offerings or our sacrifices. He has everything already. If we overcome these temptations and truly sacrifice, the devils fill our hearts with pride and vanity. They will tell us how great our offerings were. How much better our gifts were than someone else's. They will suggest that we are truly holy and pleasing. We should be pleased with ourselves. And that we have made significant progress.

The temptations of the devils are like twoedged swords. They cut us in either direction. We refrain from good works, and the devil's blade cuts us. We do good works; they tempt us to pride and vanity and injure us on this side as well.

The Spirit of God is leading us through the direction of Our Holy Mother, the Church, to enter the desert to be tempted by the devil. We follow Jesus, so we should also imitate His words and actions. We have an idea of the devil's ways, so we are not going in blind or handicapped. We have the example of Jesus before us, and we have Him by our side.

Let us remember that material sacrifices are necessary but not the most essential part of our Lenten penances. We should strive to focus on the spiritual side — especially our attitude and intentions. With true charity and joy in our hearts, let us humbly and meekly follow Jesus in fasting and penance.